Wow, people are all over this one! ;) I'll kick-start it with what I have in the oven right now, for supper tonight.
Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole
2 16-oz bags of frozen Broccoli and Cauliflower, one of each 3 T butter 3 T flour 1 t salt 2-3 T crushed garlic 1/4 c pureed onion (I do onion this way so I can have the flavor without the texture, since Amne hates the texture of onions, you can use about a 1/2 c chopped onion instead) 1 t dried basil ~ 1 1/4 c milk 1 8 oz tub of onion/chive cream cheese leftover cut-up chicken or turkey (at least a cup or so)
Topping:
3/4 c bread crumbs 3 T butter, melted 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400.
Cook the vegetables (I microwave 'em) until they're done. Not almost done. Done. Tender all the way through. I don't know why but it really makes a difference in the final dish being just good or being utterly devoured.
Cook the onion in the butter until soft, add the garlic, salt, basil then the flour to make a paste. Add the milk a bit at a time, stirring well after every addition. (You're essentially making a white sauce.) Add the cream cheese and let it melt completely in. Cook until thickened, add more milk if you like to thin it down a bit. ( I like mine on the thick side, but different strokes...)
Combine sauce with the vegetables, add the chicken/turkey if you're adding any, and dump into a casserole dish. Bake for half an hour.
Toss together the 3 topping ingredients. Remove the casserole, stir it then sprinkle with the topping. Bake another 8-10 minutes to brown the crumb topping.
Try to let it cool so you don't burn your tongue before you demolish it! :)
The recipe claims it makes 12 servings but that's a dirty lie!
1lb of top round steak 5 large crimini mushrooms 3 large clsters of oyster mushrooms 4 shallots 2 cloves of garlic butter 1 cup flour cracked black pepper kosher salt good hungarian paprika beef stock or beef broth sour cream
Slice the shallots and both kinds of mushrooms separately and mince the garlic finely. Slice the beef into thin strips against the grain. spread out and season with salt and pepper lightly. Mix a teaspoon of paprika into the flour with a fork and dredge the beef through it. Saute the shallots, garlic, and criminis in a few tablespoons of butterin a broad saute pan and add the oyster mushrooms a little later because they're delicate and don't do well with over cooking. Set these aside in a bowl. Add a little more butter to the pan. Add the beef in small batches setting it aside when it's browned all over but rare in the centers. Deglaze the pan with a cup and a half of stock or broth and allow it to come to a broil while scraping the flour from the bottom of the pan adding extra paprika to taste (my taste says a lot). Reintroduce the beef, and mushroom mixture. Allow a half minute or so to warm everything through and then remove from heat. Stir in several large spoonfulls of sour cream. Serve over speatzle, egg noodles, or toast points. I like to sprinkle some fresh minced parsely over the top.
1 box of firm tofu egg substitute for 1 egg 3/4 cup cornstarch vegetable oil for frying 3 chopped green onions 1 Tablespoon minced ginger 1 Tablespoon minced garlic 2/3 cup vegetable stock 2 Tablespoons soy sauce 4 Tablespoons sugar red pepper to taste 1 Tablespoon sherry (optional) 1 Tablespoon white vinegar steamed broccoli
Directions:
Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn't necessary. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.
Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.
Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.
Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.
This is one of my favorites. Very easy to make, very tasty. Plus, you can always amaze Randy by cooking an entire chicken. I feed it to the gamers. I'm not submitting this for competition consideration (I'm a judge, silly) just though others might like it.
Engagement Chicken
Ingredients
* 3 lbs whole chickens * 2 medium lemons * 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice * kosher salt or sea salt (to taste) * ground black pepper (to taste)
Directions
1. Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
2. Wash chicken inside and out with cold water, remove the giblets, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander until it reaches room temperature (about 15 min) Pat dry with paper towels.
3. Pour lemon juice all over the chicken (inside and outside) season with salt and pepper.
4. Prick the whole lemons three times with a fork and place deep inside the cavity.
5. (Tip: If lemons are hard, roll on the countertop with your palm to get juices flowing.) Place the chicken breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan, lower heat to 350 and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and turn it breast-side up (use wooden spoons!); return it to oven for 35 minutes more.
7. Test for doneness - a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh should read 180, or juices should run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork.
8. Continue baking if necessary.
9. Let chicken cool for a few minutes before carving.
10. Serve with juices.
11. Serve with boiled new potatoes tossed with olive oil and fresh chopped parsley and/or steamed asparagus with butter.
Engagement chicken takes more than 45 minutes to cook. I highly recommend a meat thermometer, or just cutting the thick parts open and checking suffices. I usually wind up cooking mine for about 60 minutes after flipping it. :)
My wife makes this for our group occasionally, and it disappears quickly.
WARM & CREAMY BACON RANCH DIP
1 8 oz container of sour cream 1 container of bacon bits or real bacon pieces crumbled 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 oz package of cream cheese 1 cup chopped green onions (if desired) 1 package ranch salad dressing & dip mix (Hidden Valley Ranch works well)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl combine all ingredients. Place in 1 quart baking dish. Cover. Heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot. Serve with your favorite crackers, chips, or veggies.
This was a recipe for a dip that is served warm. Greg made it for my birthday party and it was in a small crockpot we have made for warm dip/sauce type things.
Reuben Dip
1 cup sauerkraut, drained 8 oz cream cheese 6 oz swiss cheese, shredded 6 oz diced corned beef (pastrami is an acceptable substitute) 1 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tbsp chili sauce 1 tbsp pickle relish (preferably dill)
I hope this makes the Cut off I made this for my wife on our First Anniversary.
Anniversary Pork or Bacon with Pork, Apple and Potatoes
1 pork roast (or loin) 1 lb of bacon 2 or 3 apples (peeled and sliced) 6 or 7 potatoes (washed and cubed) 1 tsp sage salt and pepper to taste Toss the apples and potatoes with the sage, salt and pepper. Place half of the apples and potatoes in a Dutch oven (or heavy covered casserole dish) that has been lightly oiled. Wrap the bacon around the pork roast covering it as much as possible. Place this on the bed of apples and potatoes, and surround it with the remaining potatoes and apples and cover. Bake at 325 for 2-3 hours or until desired doneness.
1 c melted butter 2 c sugar 2 t vanilla 4 eggs 1 c flour 1 c powered cocoa (I *highly* recommend the Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa from King Arthur's website) 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t salt
Blend together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, beating with a wooden spoon. Mix together the flour and cocoa (breaks up any lumps in the cocoa so much more easily), add all the dry ingredients and stir until mixed. Grease your pan before adding the brownie batter.
Bake in the Edge Pan (okay, okay or a normal cake pan if you're not a gamer geek!) at 350 degrees for about 25-30 min (5 min less if you're using that cake pan) or until the brownie start pulling away from the edges of the pan. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
6 T softened butter 6 T powdered cocoa 2 T honey 1 t vanilla 2 c confectioners' (powdered) sugar 2-4 T cream (or milk)
Cream together the butter, cocoa, honey and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and cream, alternating portions of them, tweaking the amount of cream you actually use based on the humidity of the day and the spreading consistency you like.
And you can consider this Amne's contribution if you like; he *does* really enjoy eating them, especially from the Edge Pan! ;)
Awesome, looks like we've got a lot of cooking and eating to do. This thread is now closed, it being after PAX and all. Stay tuned in to the show to find out who won and what you're getting!
Congratulations to DocBrown on winning the recipe contest! If you haven't listened to the show, send your t-shirt size and mailing information to thismoderndeath@gmail.com, and we'll get your shirt shipped out to you.